The ThinkPad X300, previously discussed here, is the new BusinessWeek cover story, as Lenovo gears up for the launch. It's a serious effort for China's Lenovo, because it's the first ThinkPad that won't carry the IBM logo. But it has been designed by the same teams as before, in North Carolina and Yamato, Japan.

BusinessWeek says:

Lenovo doesn't expect the X300, with prices ranging from $2,700 to $3,000, to be a huge seller. They believe it will be a "halo" product, leading to positive reinforcement for the corporate brand and for the more affordable ThinkPads. The X300 will be prominently featured at the Beijing Olympics, where Lenovo is to be one of the major sponsors.

Lenovo is obviously aware of Apple's MacBook Air, and mentions that the X300 also fits inside a plain manila envelope. It will be interesting to see how the two products fare, because the X300 has a much better specification, and far fewer compromises. The MacBook Air wins as an exercise in thinness, but it's a bit like lowering the height of a Porsche by fitting the wheels off a scooter.

The X300 uses a new 7mm-ultrathin DVD drive which, as I've mentioned before, is already available in the Toshiba Portege R500 ultraportable range. The R500 is also much lighter than the X300 and Air, albeit it has a smaller (12.1inch) screen, and cheaper. However, the ThinkPad has been the standard corporate notebook for 15 years, and big companies buy them in bulk. That's the market Lenovo needs to hang on to.